And Manning, at the time trying to rebound from four surgical procedures on his neck, could see the Colts’ future in Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

“He said, ‘You’ve got to take Andrew,'” Irsay recalls during an interview with USA TODAY Sports. “‘You have to. You’re crazy if you don’t.'”

The Colts indeed drafted Luck with the No. 1 overall pick last year after releasing Manning, who hitched on with the Denver Broncos and John Elway and is well-positioned for a second Super Bowl title.

The Broncos play in Indianapolis on Sunday, and it will be Manning’s first time playing against his former team. There’s no ill will harbored by Irsay, however, who says in the story that what’s happened to Manning since he left Indianapolis has been “perfect.”

Irsay also says that there would have been no way to draft Luck and let him develop under Manning, and from the sounds of the story, he has no regrets about his decision to go with the future over bringing back his team’s past.

Manning has not confirmed Irsay’s take on the conversation about Luck.

Gary, maybe you are right, but Peyton was reportedly ticked-off at Irsay for essentially letting him go, and reports still circulate to this day in NFL circles on TV, in the papers, and the internet that Peyton has some very ill feelings towards Irsay. And that Irsay from time-to-time still feels the need to defend his decision to get rid of Peyton and get Luck.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.